In Our Tomb
by Ashplosion
Summary: Jade and Cat are literally trapped in their own tomb. One thing leads to another, and Cat confirms Jade's suspicions about the redhead's feelings.


We're freezing. It's been six hours since the earthquake.

I'm not sure what prompted me to push Cat out of the way, but I did it. I am terrified to think of what would've happened if that chunk of concrete had collapsed on her.

But it's okay, I keep telling myself. We're alive. I'm going out of my way to not think of the missing word there… We're _buried_ alive. After an hour-and-a-half of crying, Cat managed to choke down the panic and allow that sunny optimism to take hold. "They'll find us," she kept telling me. What an absolute fucking wonder. I am trapped under tons of rubble in what's left of the basement of Hollywood Arts High School. I am trapped _with Cat Valentine_, under tons of rubble. Gradually, though, the sunshine faded away until we were left with our own thoughts.

I felt the creeping fear take hold that we may never walk out of this school.

We've been keeping to ourselves for about an hour when she finally speaks. "We're going to die, aren't we Jade?" I sigh and move closer toward her, trying to keep my injured leg out of her sight. I'm not sure if she can see down here; I damn sure can't. I have no idea what happened. I didn't even notice it until we'd been under here at least an hour. I don't think Cat's seen it yet, so I'm toughing it through, for her sake.

"We'll be fine, Cat. They're digging for us now." She smiles at me and makes a noise, like I missed a joke or something.

"Jade, we're going to die." I blink. It's dark, it's blunt, and it's so… _unlike_ Cat. She's studying me intently, and I'm slowly getting unnerved. "What's it like?" she asks abruptly.

"What?"

"Sex," she says simply. I know I'm blushing. I didn't even think about Cat being a virgin. It was kind of the last thing on my mind, given the twenty-or-so tons of debris above us. "I don't want to be a virgin. I know you're not. I always wanted to ask, but I wanted to experience it more. I just-the right moment, the right person, never came along."

"So you really are a loser," I joked.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" I chuckled and pulled her closer for warmth.

"It was a joke, Cat. Honestly, I wish I'd waited for the right person too."

"Beck wasn't the right person?"

"He was… but there was someone who was even more right for me," I said quietly, trying to gauge her reaction. I never expected to be having this conversation with the redhead, and I wasn't sure how to go forward. I knew she was in love with me, but I'd never been able to overcome my fear of the scarlet L, so to speak.

"Who was it?"

"It's… a girl," I said softly. Cat shifted, and I wondered if I'd hit some sort of well-hidden homophobe button. "I never could say anything to her because I was afraid of what people would think."

"You're never afraid of what people think, Jade!"

"I'm not afraid on most things, but there are a few. Acting, singing… being a lesbian." I managed to tack that last one on rather nonchalantly; Cat didn't seem to notice.

"Who is she?"

"Just… a girl. I fell in love with her a couple of years ago."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"What?"

"I love a girl too. But she loves someone else." I decided to play along.

"Who?"

"You," she said simply and flawlessly. I leaned close to her and decided to keep playing.

"Can I tell you who I love?"

"Who? Oh, I bet it's Tori! She's so pretty and funny and-"

"Gag. Don't make me throw up my last meal, Cat. I'm not in love with Tori."

"Who?" I smiled.

"I'm in love with you," and I kissed and crazy response she had away.

I'm not sure how long we just snuggled together under the debris. I knew it was sometime after midnight; the earthquake happened at about 10 am. Cat tried to sleep, but she moved so much that there was no way in hell it would come. I mostly lay there pondering the revelations we'd shared. I knew we'd still be snuggling for the warmth if they hadn't happened, but would the emotional bond be there? Yeah, I think it would. This is Cat. Cat is my charge, my best friend, my ray of sunshine… I'm her guardian, her reality, and her shade.

"Jade?"

"Yes?"

"I… Um… I do- I thi- I want… I…" Her voice was thick and heavy; her tongue didn't seem to cooperate.

"What, Cat?"

"I don't want to die a virgin," she said quietly. "I know… I know you'll be cheating on Beck, but since we're gonna die anyway, can we… I want… will you…" I sighed softly and kissed her ear lightly.

"Cat, do you want me to make love to you before… before it happens?" She nodded in the darkness. I couldn't bring myself to confess that we would die, that our relationship would end with a one-night stand in our own tombs. It felt so impersonal. At the same time, with our current mental states, I'm surprised she hadn't asked sooner. Acting calm was a natural impulse for me. Inside, I had a torrent of fears and worries storming through me. And now, here was this one chance to escape from it and share something beautiful for a little while with the other half of my soul. Was it selfish, to take her virginity when I was already committed to a man, when I needed an escapist mentality for a little while, when I needed to forget that we were literally _in our own tombs_? Yes. Was it selfish of me to deny her this one rite of passage, when she'd missed on so many others, when we had confessed feelings for each other, when we were _so far removed from our own world and personalities that it was like we were reading a script_? Yes. At least option one benefitted both of us and allowed us to share some pleasure in our final hours together.

During all of the deliberating, I didn't notice that she'd literally climbed on top of me. I could feel her brown eyes searching for mine in the darkness. "Jade?" she asked very quietly. And I kissed her.

I closed my eyes and felt her body relax. Truth be told… I'd never made love to a woman. So in a way…. Cat was my first.

The kiss intensified and my tongue slid softly along her lower lip. She eagerly complied, meeting me full force in the kiss. My hands roved over her sides, and she shivered slightly. I decided right then that the kissing was natural enough to me to focus all of my attention on my hands, her body. I wanted her only time to be good, to be worth giving something this special to me. "Are you ready?" I asked quietly, after breaking apart.

"Yes," she said in a soft sigh, sitting up. We clumsily undressed each other; I felt more like a virgin in that instant, in the dark, than I ever had with Beck.

Hands faltered. Stutters shattered the silence; Cat clumsily told me she'd imagined this moment so many times, touched herself as she thought about it. I blushed. I admitted I'd thought of her too, as my hands roamed over her hips. My thumb found a sensitive spot over her hip bone. She collapsed in surprise from her position above me as her hips bucked forward. Her chest brushed mine, her hair tickled my face, and I kissed her hungrily. "Please," she begged. "Don't tease me. I don't need much." Her hands shyly slid over my thighs in mirror image with mine over hers, and I parted her hips slightly. "I want you," she said more confidently as she actually touched me for the first time. I never responded, save for the ragged breathing that we shared as we stole off for our escape.

I remember every detail of that first time together. I even remember falling asleep after hours of reveling in the afterglow, talking and holding each other. I don't remember being rescued; Tori told us we both had head injuries. I do remember waking up, in a shared hospital room, with Cat's mom and my dad asleep in the chairs near our beds. I blinked a few times to make sure I hadn't died and gone to hell. C'mon, we all know where I'm going. But once I saw Cat, I knew I was alive… we'd survived. And my surprised, breathless gasp was enough to wake the room… enough for Cat and I to start over and give everything we'd ever wanted a try.


End file.
